U.S. Central Command has opened an investigation into recent reports that scores of Iraqi civilians were killed by a U.S.-led coalition airstrike in Mosul, the top commander in the Middle East said Wednesday.
Gen. Joseph Votel, head of U.S. Central Command, testified before the House Armed Services Committee that its initial assessment of the blast has morphed into a formal investigation.
Votel said he agreed with the evaluation by Gen. Stephen Townsend, who commands the American-led task force battling the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, that "there's a fair chance" a U.S. strike killed civilians in West Mosul on March 17.
"I would highlight to each of you that this investigation continues and there is still much to learn," Votel told lawmakers.
"It is important to recognize that the enemy does use human shields, has little regard for human life, and does attempt to use civilian casualty allegations as a tool to hamper our operations, and so they bear a responsibility for this as well," he later added.
The U.S.-led military coalition in Iraq announced last week it had begun assessing reports that as many as 200 civilians were killed in western Mosul, where Iraqi troops have launched an offensive to retake the city from ISIS. The strikes if confirmed would rank among the highest civilian death tolls in a U.S. air operation since the Iraq War began in 2003, according to the New York Times.
Votel reiterated the Pentagon's statement that the military had not relaxed U.S. rules of engagement to ease American restrictions designed to prevent civilian casualties, noting that the battle in Mosul requires difficult urban combat. He pledged the U.S. Armed Services "are doing everything humanly possible to prevent" similar incidents from occurring as a result of American-led operations.
Votel urged members of the Armed Services Committee to keep in mind that ISIS often exploits American concerns to operate at a higher standard and prevent civilian casualties as a method to distract its campaign against the terrorist group.
"The enemy that we have faced in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and other places here is particularly savvy in how they use information operations," he testified. "ISIS in particular is well skilled in this. They have professionals who have expertise in this particular area and so they know how to manipulate the information environment and create situations that they know will cause concerns for us and Western countries."
Iraqi security forces launched its offensive to retake Mosul in October, dealing a blow to ISIS in January when they retook the eastern part of the city. The fight to capture western Mosul is still underway, with military officials predicting the battle will continue for months.